New Short History of the Catholic Church

by Norman Tanner

Publisher:

Burns and Oates

, 2011

Overview

New Short History of the Catholic Church is a concise history of the Christian people with principal focus on the Catholic Church. Having passed AD 2000, it seems appropriate and necessary to have a readable history of the first two millennia of the Christian era.

In the last half century there has been a massive amount of research into church history, published in learned articles and in multi-volume works. References to these recent scholarly initiatives appear throughout this short account, providing the richness of thorough historical scholarship in the scope of a concise history book.

In each section there is a balance between the institutional and the more directly religious dimensions of the Church. Some of the elements include bishops, canon law, charity, councils crusades, devotions, heresies, laity, liturgy, martyrs, missionaries, parishes, pilgrimages, popes, prayer, priesthood, religious orders, sacraments, schools, theologians, universities, and the vita consacrata.

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Key Features

• Discusses when the boundaries of the Church mainly coincided with those of the Roman Empire
• Analyzes the breakup of the Roman Empire in the West through the barbarian invasions
• Explores the expansion of Catholicism into a worldwide religion

Contents

• Pentecost to the Fourth Century
• Early Middle Ages: 400–1054
• Central and Late Middle Ages
• Early Modern Catholicism: 1500–1800
• Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Top Highlights

“Eusebius of Caesarea, writing in the fourth century, is acclaimed as the ‘Father of Church History’” (Page 1)

“Arrangements varied somewhat by country or region, but a three-tiered episcopate was already apparent in the late third century: bishops of dioceses; metropolitan bishops who lived in the larger towns (metro-polis = large town) and had some authority over the bishops of the area; and the bishops of the three major sees of Rome, Alexandria and Antioch (to be joined later by Constantinople and Jerusalem, to form the ‘pentarchy’ of five patriarchal sees).” (Page 19)

“Or, in the subsequent language of the councils of Trent and Vatican II, Tradition clarifies Scripture.” (Page 6)

“The earliest, from the late second century, is to be found in the catacomb of Saint Callistus. Christ is symbolized as a fish: the letters that make up the Greek word for fish, ICHTHUS, were taken to represent I(esus) Ch(ristos) Th(eou) U(ios) S(oter)—Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour—a meaning obvious only to Christians.” (Page 22)

“Five ecumenical councils were held between the fifth and eighth centuries: Ephesus in 431, Chalcedon in 451, Constantinople II in 553, Constantinople III in 680–1 and Nicea II in 787.” (Page 55)

Praise for the Print Edition

Tanner covers a tremendous amount of ground but never leaves the reader overwhelmed with dates and names. . . . If you want a reliable general survey of church history, allowing you to see the woods for the trees, then this is the book for you.

—The Catholic Times

An excellent overview of church history focusing mainly on Roman Catholicism and covering five periods. . . . It includes a map of the Mediterranean world, a useful appendix listing ecumenical councils, a glossary of terms, and a good bibliography and index. It will be a useful reference work, particularly for theological students and clergy, and will be a welcome addition to church history studies.

—The Good Bookstall

This is a useful book of reference by the master of the history of the councils of the Church. . . . There is enormous value in a short, reliable, and careful study of a sequence of events that may have unfamiliar joinings and passageways to modern believers. . .

—Catholic Historical Review

Product Details

• Title: New Short History of the Catholic Church
• Author: Norman Tanner
• Publisher: Burns and Oates
• Publication Date: 2011
• Pages: 280

About Norman Tanner

Norman Tanner is a Jesuit priest and a professor of Church history at The Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.